PHILADELPHIA — The calls come in, as do the texts. Brett Brown is numb to neither the messages on his cell phone, nor his team’s results on the court.

It’s a friendly rite of passage for those close to Brown, the 76ers’ rookie coach, to reach out with well wishes amid his team’s ever-expanding losing streak. And they have – at times, en masse.

“I have friends that (text me), ‘Hey, I’m thinking of ya. Hang in there.’ I love them. I appreciate them reaching out,” said Brown, “but we’re fine. We sleep. Life moves on. We’re getting it done the way we hope to build something.”

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Win or lose – and, these days, they’ve been primarily losses – Brown is not relenting. He insists that he and his staff are finding ways to gauge their players’ development, even if the final score does not indicate worthwhile performances.

Speaking of those piling-up defeats, the Sixers (15-49) will look to snap their 18-game losing streak in a pair of home games this weekend, beginning Friday against Indiana (47-17).

In the time since the Sixers last won a game, Jan. 29 at Boston, the numbers haven’t been pretty. The Sixers, who did not practice Thursday, have lost by an average of 18.5 points per game. They’ve kept an opponent under 100 points only once. And they’ve lost 17 of those 18 games by at least double digits.

If there ever was a time for Brown to bend, this is it. But he’s not.

“I don’t want anybody pitying us. We don’t want sympathy. We don’t want ‘woe is me,’” Brown said the other night, before the Sixers lost to Sacramento. “Life is good. We have to bide some time and maintain a level of patience. We always talk about the difference of tolerance vs. patience, and we have to be patient. Some things we can’t tolerate and have to fix.

“I have great people in the marketplace, and I appreciate them reaching out, but my first reaction is, ‘Hey, head down, tail up. We’re moving.’”

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Friday, the Eastern Conference-leading Indiana Pacers visit Wells Fargo Center. Andrew Bynum, however, won’t be among those taking the floor.

Bynum will not play against the Sixers, Indiana coach Frank Vogel told reporters Thursday at the Pacers’ practice in Indianapolis. The 7-footer will be available for the Pacers Saturday at Detroit, Vogel said.

The center, who missed all of last season for the Sixers, was expected to play in Philly given that he’s had two days of recovery. He made his debut for Indiana Tuesday with eight points and 10 rebounds in 16 minutes of the Pacers’ win over Boston. It was his first game action since Dec. 26, when Bynum was with Cleveland.

Evan Turner and Lavoy Allen, who were traded from the Sixers to Indiana in a deadline deal, will be available for the game.

Turner is averaging 9.1 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.1 assists in nearly 23 minutes per game. Allen has played in only three of nine games since the trade, and is averaging 4.3 minutes per appearance.

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The Sixers are close to adding Darius Johnson-Odom to their roster and plan to sign the D-League guard to a 10-day contract. To make room for him, the Sixers will have to waive a player in a corresponding move.

Johnson-Odom was one of four players brought in by the Sixers for a workout Tuesday at PCOM, in front of Brown and Sixers general manager Sam Hinkie. Wednesday, Brown hinted that a roster move could be imminent, meaning he and Hinkie liked what they saw out of Johnson-Odom.

The 24-year-old Johnson-Odom is averaging 22.0 points and 6.1 assists per game, while shooting 45.3 percent overall in 27 appearances for Springfield. The 6-2, 201-pound guard, who played at Marquette, was the 55th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.